


Stained Steel

by orphan_account



Category: Ever After High
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-02
Updated: 2016-02-02
Packaged: 2018-05-17 19:38:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5883013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Apple falls off her horse, the last thing she expected was a literal knight in shining armour to come save her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stained Steel

Apple wishes she could have met the White Knight some better way. Something romantic and properly heroic, like the Knight saving her from a fearsome dragon or ancient evil. 

Really, anything would have been better than the way it was, with Apple thrown from her horse into a deep puddle of mud. It shouldn't have happened. Apple had ridden on plenty of horses before, and on this one in particular dozens of times, but none of that had stopped her horse from spooking, galloping wildly into the forest with no sense of direction, finally throwing her off her seat in a final act of disgrace.

The mud and shame of being unable to control her horse were bad enough, and Apple was mainly glad that no one was around to see her slime covered shame. At least until a figure had ridden into sight, tall and armoured and looking so much like a prince was meant to that it made her heart stop.

Apple tries to stand up and greet them, but her feet slip on the mud, and she fell down once more, drenching herself in even further. Her clothes were saturated in muck, and she just knew that her hair was in enough of a state that her mother would scream at the sight if it.

The Knight swings themselves down from their horse, immediately striding towards her. Even if the steel covered every part of their features, turned their entire body into a silver mask lacking in expression, their movements made Apple feel like she understand their emotions as clearly as if they'd been bare faced before her.

She knew it was in her destiny to be saved by a prince, but still, to have someone so noble worried about her...

The filtered sunlight casts patterned shadows across their armour, and the Knight's footsteps are lighter than the fall of a leaf, and they look like they belonged here, as if they had been born from the graceful flutter of a bird's wings, from rustling leaves and golden bars of sunlight. The Knight looked beautiful, and while their armour and sword certainly looked ready for a battle, the grace in their stride spoke of something more than simple combat.

The Knight outstretches their hand to her, and Apple feels suddenly nervous, acutely aware of how she must look, what the Knight must be thinking about the silly girl who couldn't control her horse and got covered in mud.

"Are you alright?" They ask, and the words are echoed and distant from behind the helmet, but they are soft, and so gentle that Apple feels the slightest bit guilty for needing their help, for taking up the Knight's time, for surely there is someone else who better deserves the help of someone so gracious and noble.

"I'm fine. Honestly, I'm feeling more foolish than hurt." Apple replies as she takes their hand. Her hand is more mud than flesh, and it's smears all over their gauntlet, turning shining silver into a dull painted brown. "Oh, your armour..."

"It's quite alright, Miss White." The Knight says kindly, steadily pulling Apple to her feet. "I don't mind. Would you like a ride back to the School? I presume you would like the chance to clean yourself up after this incident."

"That would be lovely." Apple says, before realisation hits her as hard and as sudden as her fall only minutes ago. "Oh, my horse. She ran off when I fell."

The front of the helmet, where Apple presumes the Knight's real face lies hidden, turns away from her, and looks into the trees. The Knight pauses for a moment before turning back to her. "I could return and track her, after taking you back?" 

"I couldn't ask you to do that."

"It is an offer freely given. It would be no trouble, I assure you."

The knight waits for her nod, then guides her towards their horse, a magnificent beast that reminds her so much of her father's horses, strong and noble creatures that he never let her ride. The horse stares at her with glittering, intelligent eyes, and Apple smiles back at it.

"Your horse is beautiful." She says, pleased when the Knight chuckles, laughter bouncing around in the metal shell until it sounds like the deep tolling of a brass bell.

"I'm glad you think so. Would you like to take the reins? I think he might like the change."

"You do realise that minutes ago I was thrown from my last horse?"

"Mine doesn't spook very easily, and I thought it might help cheer you up somewhat."

"Alright." Apple says, accepting the reins from the Knight and swinging onto the horse's back. The Knight climbs on behind Apple soon after, and despite the considerable weight on his back, the beast moves as gracefully as his rider does.

The forest flashes past them as they move, a rainbow of greens blurring into one colour, like a mix of paints smudged together on an easel. Apple urges her ride faster, and he complies, hooves tearing into the earth and spraying the air with dirt. He was moving at almost the same speed as Apple's horse had before moments before she fell, but the Knight's horse is so much steadier, and calmer, that Apple isn't even worried about the speed, or the drying mud on her skin.

"I think he likes you!" The Knight shouts out from behind her, their voice high and joyous, human enough that it's easy to forget the metal skin protecting their identity, let Apple imagine what they'd look like, someone tall, with hair long enough that they'd have to tie it up, someone with small hands and a gentle smile, and...

They thunder out of the forest, and Apple slows, let's the horse settle before swinging down and returning to the ground. The Knight stays, grabbing the reins and nodding down at Apple.

"Thank you." Apple says before the Knight leaves. They wave at her before turning their horse around and galloping back into the forest.

They have been gone for mere moments, yet Apple missed their presence already. The Knight was too considerate to be Daring, and was too noble to be Dexter, yet they were still very much so Charming.

 

\---

 

An hour later, when Darling is washing dried mud off steel, she thinks of a girl with blonde hair hidden by brown, whose smile had dazzled her like the sun, and she smiles to herself.

**Author's Note:**

> Lesbian princesses are 100% my aesthetic, and I'm still haven't calmed down about Dragon Games so


End file.
